Earth-observing satellite launch delayed until Tuesday

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Monday's scheduled launch of an Earth-surveying satellite equipped with new technology was delayed one day for administrative reasons, a NASA spokesman said Sunday.

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The launch of a Delta II rocket carrying NASA's Earth Observing 1 satellite as well as the SAC-C spacecraft for the Argentine Commission on Space Activities had been set for Monday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

It was postponed until Tuesday at 10:24 p.m. EST (0324 GMT Wednesday) to allow for the filing of additional documentation, NASA spokesman Dave Steitz said.

The Earth Observing 1 satellite is part of NASA's New Millennium Program. It contains three land-imaging tools that will rely on new technology to focus on particular wavelengths to look for land features.

It also contains technologies aimed at reducing the cost, mass and complexity of future survey spacecraft, allowing missions to include more scientific payload.

The SAC-C spacecraft will study the makeup of Earth's atmosphere, ionosphere and geomagnetic field.

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